Tag Archives: technology

Maplecroft has today released research figures that shows that of the BRIC nations, India is at ‘extreme risk” with respect to their population becoming stifled by a lack of digital inclusion i.e. the ability for their population to use and access ICT technology. Maplecroft uses 10 indicators to calculate the level of digital inclusion found across 186 countries. These include numbers of mobile cellular and broadband subscriptions; fixed telephone lines; households with a PC and television; internet users and secure internet servers; internet bandwidth; secondary education enrolment; and adult literacy.

Of the BRIC nations, India (39) is the only country to be classified as ‘extreme risk’, meaning that the country’s population suffers from a severe lack of digital inclusion. China (103) Brazil (110) and Russia (134) are rated ‘medium risk’. Despite huge economic growth, the BRICs nations are still significantly outperformed by developed nations in the Digital Inclusion Index. The countries with the best access to ICTs are the Netherlands (186), Denmark (185), Luxembourg (184), Sweden (183) and the UK (182). Trends suggest that the BRICs nations may not lag behind for much longer however.

Governments and private entities around the globs have long been struggling to keep healthcare delivery in step with the advances in technology that have occurred over the past years. Most visionaries realize that technology and connectedness are absolutely vital if we are to take healthcare delivery out of the dark ages into the 21st century. Recently the Obama administration has announced very significant funding for the healthcare industry, focussing specifically on the application of technology and the use of online medical records. Companies such as Microsoft and Google are leading the charge in the personal medical record race.

The Economist has just published a 14-page special on innovation, healthcare and technology. Makes for excellent reading. It’s tremendous that at least there is such a focus on how technology and innovation can be used to radically improve the delivery of services to an area that is so important to each of us – our health.